Williams Trading
Williams Trading is a privately held institutional broker-dealer in Westport, Connecticut, and an early provider of outsourced equity trading for hedge funds. It also offers investment banking, securities lending, capital introduction and private secondaries, and publishes equity research on footwear, apparel and specialty-retail stocks.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 4412M
- Actions
- 6212M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 1 / 61
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 0 / 1
- Buy-rated
- 0%of 1 rated
- Median upside
- +23.6%
- Targets raised / lowered
- 27 / 19
- On record
- Sep 2021 – Sep 2026
Overview
Williams Trading's small research team covers footwear, apparel, athletic brands, sporting goods and specialty retail. The firm's execution clients include hedge funds, mutual funds and family offices. In 2006, David "Tiger" Williams described confidentiality as a major benefit of its trading service, with most orders submitted under the firm's name. As of 2026, Williams Trading says it recruits senior analysts with industry experience through client and partner referrals when suitable candidates become available, without targeting a fixed team size or coverage list.
David "Tiger" Williams, previously head of U.S. equity trading at Julian Robertson's Tiger Management, founded Williams Trading in June 1997 as an outsourced trading desk for hedge funds, starting with six clients and three employees. The firm, later based in Stamford and now in Westport, Connecticut, added 24-hour global execution, capital markets, securities lending, capital introduction and private secondaries. Williams remains its managing member and majority owner.
Milestones
- 1997
Founded by David Williams as an outsourced trading desk
- 2019
Partners with Cowen on securities lending for hedge funds
Firm facts
- Type
- Boutique
- Founded
- 1997
- Headquarters
- Westport, United States
- Founder and Managing Member
- David "Tiger" Williams
- Rating scale
- BuyHoldSell
- Website
- wtco.com
Research philosophy
Analysts work free of any influence from banking, asset management or other considerations – their coverage names, ideas and work are all their own.
As of 2026, Williams Trading says it designs its ideas to be timely and actionable for clients' investment teams.
Rating methodology
Published ratings are Buy, Hold and Sell.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 The Williams Companies, Inc.WMB | — | $92 |
 On Holding AGONON | Hold | $32 |
 T-Mobile US, Inc.TMUS | — | $260 |
 AT&T Inc.T | — | $32 |
 Chord Energy CorporationCHRD | — | $189 |
 Crocs, Inc.CROX | Buy | $150 |
 Littelfuse, Inc.LFUS | — | $520 |
 Plexus Corp.PLXS | — | $195 |
 Rigetti Computing, Inc.RGTI | — | $40 |
 Steven Madden, Ltd.SHOO | Hold | $56 |
Most active analysts
- David Williams25 notesPLXSLFUSRGTI
- Gregory Williams25 notesTTMUSCHTR
- Sam Poser13 notesCROXONONVFC
- Trevor Williams9 notesFISVCPAYCOIN
- Gabriele Sorbara8 notesCHRDDVNAR
- Robert Kad2 notesMSWMB
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Target | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | The Williams Companies, Inc.WMB | Target | $103 →$92 | |
| Sep 14 | GSGSI Technology, Inc.GSIT | Target | $9 | David Williams |
| Aug 26 | The Williams Companies, Inc.WMB | Target | $82 →$103 | |
| Aug 19 |  Wolverine World Wide, Inc.WWW | Target | $16 →$20 | Sam Poser |
| Aug 13 | AOAlpha and Omega Semiconductor LimitedAOSL | Target | $42 →$45 | David Williams |
| Aug 11 | On Holding AGONON | Target | $47 →$32 | Sam Poser |
| Aug 7 |  Cable One, Inc.CABO | Target | $86 | Gregory Williams |
| Aug 6 | POPower Integrations, Inc.POWI | Target | $78 →$80 | David Williams |
| Aug 3 | Steven Madden, Ltd.SHOO | Target | $48 →$56 | |
| Jul 27 | CHCharter Communications, Inc.CHTR | Target | $437 →$380 | Gregory Williams |
| Jul 24 | T-Mobile US, Inc.TMUS | Target | $261 →$260 | Greg Williams |
| Jul 6 | NRNRG Energy, Inc.NRG | Target | $184 | Gabriele Sorbara |